Why the Epstein case looms large in MAGA world
Posobiec, who emerged from the fringes of the internet in 2016 when he spread false rumours about a child abuse ring based in a Washington DC restaurant - a conspiracy theory that became known as Pizzagate - is just one of many MAGA die-hards who believes officials are hiding key truths about Epstein's life and death.The disgraced financier and convicted sex offender died by suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.On a recent podcast hosted by Breitbart News editor Alex Marlow, Posobiec said the MAGA base see this case as shorthand for the thorough rot of the so-called "deep state"."It's not that they care about Epstein personally," he said. "It's that they care that there's this optic that Epstein was somehow involved with a shadowy system that actually has control over our government, control over our institutions, control of our lives, and really is a ruling power over us."Over the years, some have claimed that government officials possess files on Epstein that reveal sordid details, including that a "client lint" exists with notable names on it who may have participated in some Epstein's alleged crimes.Trump has, in the past, played to that crowd. During last year's election campaign, he said he would have "no problem" releasing Epstein case files, and after the election directly answered a question about whether he would "declassify" the files by saying: "Yeah, yeah, I would."Conspiratorial thinking has been a part of President Trump's movement from the outset. His entry into the once-crowded world of Republican Party politics a decade ago came as he amplified the false theory that Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States.Now, however, the world of conspiracy is biting back.
Epstein's crimes are real and horrific, and there remains the possibility that further information could emerge about them.But they have also become subsumed by grander narratives – Pizzagate, and later QAnon, the sprawling interactive conspiracy theory that swamped the internet during Trump's first term, pushing the idea that the highest echelons of society were controlled by a child-abusing elite cabal. The conspiracy theory spread through cryptic messages posted by a pseudonymous character called Q.Mike Rothschild, author of several books on Trump-era conspiracies, including The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult and Conspiracy of Everything, said Epstein was mentioned in several such messages dating back to late 2017."Epstein is seen as one of the major players in a global 'paedo elite' that's been trafficking children for centuries, and that Q and Trump were supposed to put an end to once and for all," he told the BBC.But after the justice department meeting in February, administration officials, including FBI director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino - who both stoked Epstein rumours for years - started to dampen talk of any major revelations.Then, on 8 July, the Department of Justice and FBI said in a memo that Epstein's cause of death was suicide and there was no evidence he had a "client list".The president seemed eager to move on, calling the Epstein case "sordid, but it's boring" while also blaming Democrats for continuing to make it an issue.Many Trump supporters are happy to follow the president's lead. But a subset of extremely online MAGA supporters are still deeply passionate about the Epstein case.Trump orders officials to release Epstein court documentsProsecutor in Diddy and Epstein cases fired by justice departmentTrump's Epstein strategy could pit him against loyal supporters
Several MAGA voices, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, have alleged that Epstein was employed by the Israeli security services. And among more extreme elements of the movement, the conspiracy theories around Epstein sometimes veer into the antisemitic.But Rothschild said most of the people in MAGA world are simply itching for more information – if it indeed exists – about the financier's connections with Bill Clinton and other Democrats and Trump opponents. Epstein cultivated powerful people from both major US political parties.The long history of MAGA's Epstein obsession mean Trump is now finding it difficult to satisfy the conspiratorial elements in his base.The story took another twist late on Thursday as The Wall Street Journal reported Trump had sent Epstein a "bawdy" birthday greeting in 2003. The pair's one-time friendship is well-known, but Trump says he cut ties with Epstein long ago and filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal's parent company, its owner and two reporters following the report. Meanwhile, Trump seemed more willing to indulge the conspiracy theorists, posting on Truth Social: "Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval."There is no doubt that conspiracy theories clearly have the power to motivate some of the president's base. QAnon supporters were among some of the most visible participants at the January 2021 riot at the US Capitol.In a survey conducted just before last November's election, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) think tank found that nearly a fifth of Americans agree with QAnon-linked statements, including most pointedly: "The government, media, and financial worlds in the US are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping paedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation."Many see the Epstein case as a confirmation of those views, and the QAnon-believing population is heavily pro-Trump, the PRRI found, with 80% backing the president.And with that support has come influence. Posobiec, the Pizzagate and Epstein conspiracy theorist who was at the DOJ meeting in February, reportedly accompanied Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on a recent trip to Europe.He also has been photographed meeting with neo-Nazi's, although he denies being a white nationalist himself.He did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.He is adamant that Epstein's case is connected to the wider conspiracy world."It ties to Covid, it ties to lockdowns, it ties to vaccines," Posobiec said, on the Alex Marlow podcast, which was recorded at a conference last week where multiple speakers brought up Epstein and demanded further revelations."It ties to so many different buckets of the anger people are feeling."Rich Logis, a former longtime Trump supporter who broke ranks and started an organisation called Leaving MAGA, said that these outlandish theories serve "as ties that bind many within the MAGA community", even amongst those who doubt them.Logis says Trump's dismissal this week of their concerns this left some supporters "feeling confused and stunned"."They expected Trump to keep his promise and reveal those who allegedly aided and abetted Epstein," he said.If the Epstein case presents a political quagmire for Trump, there is also a problem for his supporters, particularly the vocal influencer class, in figuring out where to funnel their rage. Targeting the president could backfire when it comes to their own followers."Many of the major influencers are furious," Rothschild said, "and while they might not take it out on Trump, they might take it out on the GOP (Republican Party) in general."Trump has so far stood by Pam Bondi, his attorney general. But she, Patel and Bongino may increasingly feel the pressure if MAGA's conspiracy wing continues to demand more files - whether or not they actually exist.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Trump travels to Scotland for golf and bilateral talks amid Epstein furor
EDINBURGH/LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, heads to Scotland on Friday for a trip that will mix golf with politics mostly out of the public view. Trump plans to visit his golf resort in Turnberry on Scotland's east coast, where he will meet on Monday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, before heading to his sprawling golf property 200 miles away near Aberdeen on the west coast. As part of the visit, he will open a second 18-hole course on the Aberdeen property named in honor of his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to America. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt this week said the trip was intended as a "working visit that will include a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Starmer to refine the historic U.S.-U.K. trade deal." The overseas travel comes as Trump faces the biggest domestic political crisis of his second term in office. Allies and opponents alike have criticized his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and the circumstances of his 2019 death in prison. The issue has caused a rare breach with some of Trump's most loyal Make America Great Again supporters, and majorities of Americans and Trump's Republicans say they believe the government is hiding details on the case, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. White House officials, frustrated by the ongoing focus on the Epstein saga, are hoping the controversy dies down while Trump is abroad, one person familiar with the matter said. The trip, initially billed as a private visit, gives Trump and Starmer a chance to deepen their already warm relationship, with key issues on the agenda to include ending Russia's war in Ukraine, UK and U.S. sources said. British officials have been heartened by what they see as a clear shift in Trump's rhetoric on Ukraine and Russia in recent weeks, a UK source said. Since being elected last year, Starmer has prioritized good relations with Trump, stressing the importance of Britain's defense and security alliance with the U.S. and being careful to avoid openly criticizing Trump's tariff policies. That approach helped Britain seal the first tariff-reduction deal with the U.S. in May, which reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the U.K. aerospace sector, but left steel tariffs in place. Tariffs will likely come up, but sources close to the matter said it was unclear if any breakthrough could be achieved. Trump also is expected to meet with Scottish leader John Swinney, who publicly backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, but no details have been released by either side. Trump has described Scotland as a 'very special place" and made a similar trip there in 2016 during his first run for the presidency, but he won't necessarily receive a warm welcome. About 70% of Scots have an unfavorable opinion, opens new tab of Trump, while 18% have a favorable opinion of him, an Ipsos poll in March found. Scottish police are girding for protests on Saturday in both Aberdeen and in Edinburgh, the country's capital. Trump will return to Britain from September 17-19 for a state visit hosted by King Charles. It will make Trump the first world leader in modern times to undertake two state visits to Britain. The late Queen Elizabeth hosted him at Buckingham Palace for a three-day state visit in June 2019.
Telegraph
a few seconds ago
- Telegraph
The full, untold story of Trump's U-turn on Ukraine
It was early morning on July 4 when Gen Keith Kellogg's phone was illuminated with a call from Poland. On the other end of the line was Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister, with what could be one of the defining interventions of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Overnight, the Polish consulate in central Kyiv had been damaged in a barrage of Russian missiles and drones. 'Putin is mocking your peace efforts,' Mr Sikorski told Gen Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who serves as Donald Trump's lead Ukraine envoy. 'Please restore supplies of anti-aircraft ammunition to Ukraine,' he added. Weapon deliveries had suddenly been frozen two days before, leading many to believe the Trump administration was once again abandoning Ukraine. During the phone call, it was the heads-up about the embassy strike that appeared to resonate most with Gen Kellogg. As a retired three-star general, he knew this was the type of incident that leads to wars escalating and eventually spiralling out of control. What happened next can be seen as the first in a series of events which ushered in Mr Trump's pivot on Ukraine. Almost immediately after ending his call with Mr Sikorski, Gen Kellogg dialled the president's number. Mr Trump answered almost straight away. After the July 4 well-wishes and congratulations for the ' one, big, beautiful bill ', the pair got down to the business of Ukraine. Overnight, Kyiv had been pummelled with 11 missiles and 539 drones, in what was at the time the largest Russian barrage against the Ukrainian capital since the war began. More crucially, the strikes came hours after Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and Mr Trump had spoken on the telephone to discuss ending the war. It was already known that the US president had grown frustrated with his Russian counterpart's refusal to halt strikes on Ukrainian cities while dismissing an American offer of a ceasefire. Gen Kellogg briefed his boss on the latest attack and how Nato ally Poland's embassy had been caught up in the strikes. The envoy then used the call to promote a resumption of Patriot air-defence missiles being sent to Ukraine. There were discussions on the potential risks and rewards of increasing Kyiv's access to the American-made surface-to-air batteries and the interceptors fired from them. Mr Trump's response was swift: tell the Pentagon to release some of the Pac-3 systems that had been caught up in a temporary freeze on US aid while officials assessed American stockpiles. He also ordered Gen Kellogg to contact Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, to resume deliveries to Kyiv. Mr Trump had been blindsided previously after Mr Hegseth authorised a pause in aid to Ukraine without informing the White House or Congress of his decision, it later emerged. The likes of Gen Kellogg and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser, only learnt about his decision from press reports. But this time would be different – and Gen Kellogg made sure of that. When he called Mr Hegseth, he told him of the president's decision to resume shipments of Patriot missiles to Ukraine. He told Mr Hegseth that if he did not believe him, he should call Mr Trump himself. It was also on July 4 that the US president promised Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, that he would finally assist with Kyiv's air defence needs. Privately, amongst Washington's most hawkish Ukraine supporters, this decision was seen as the first time Mr Trump had realised the significance of using American might to strengthen Kyiv's hand as a potential route to a peace deal. However, it took the Pentagon at least four days to get the first batch of Patriot missiles on the move. There had been 40 Pac-3 interceptors ordered by former president Joe Biden's administration in Poland en route to Ukraine. A dozen of them were eventually released following Mr Trump's call with Gen Kellogg. This volte face was then leapt on by European capitals confident of tempting the US president to go further in support of Kyiv. Friedrich Merz, Germany's chancellor, started offering to buy Patriot systems that would be sent to boost the war-torn nation's defences. Mark Rutte, Nato's secretary-general, went further, offering Mr Trump the opportunity to be reimbursed by European allies and Canada to the tune of billions of dollars in American-made weapons shipped to Ukraine. It was a deal lapped up by the US president, who had been quietly lobbied by advisers, like Gen Kellogg, that having European nations pay for American weapons shipped to Europe was a demonstration of his 'Make America Great Again' principles. Those weapons would not only convince Putin to come to the negotiating table, but also exhibit the effectiveness of American weapons during a European attempt to rearm itself through domestic production. It took Mr Trump just nine more days to announce, alongside Mr Rutte, his $10bn aid pipeline on July 13, as well as the prospect of crippling trade tariffs on Russia and any country that bought its fossil fuels. By the end of that week, a Patriot air-defence system and more interceptors had already arrived in Ukraine, thanks to a deal with Germany. The Pentagon and the White House used that move to try to convince European nations to take risks by sending their available stocks to Kyiv while waiting for America to backfill them. However, it is a tough ask for some countries, given that their Patriots will not be replaced until early next year. Earlier this week, Berlin announced an agreement with Washington to donate a further five batteries to Ukraine. Germany will provide funds for two of the systems, while Norway has promised to pay for a third. The replacements are expected to come from orders once promised to Switzerland. Bern last week revealed it had been told by Washington that deliveries destined for the neutral nation were being diverted to support Kyiv. Mr Trump was advised that diverting the Swiss order would help free up the systems necessary to support Ukraine. In 2022, Switzerland ordered five Patriot systems, with the expectation that deliveries would start in 2026 and end two years later.
The Guardian
a few seconds ago
- The Guardian
The real winners from Trump's ‘AI action plan'? Tech companies
Donald Trump's AI summit in Washington this week was a fanfare-filled event catered to the tech elite. The president took the stage on Wednesday evening, as the song God Bless the USA piped over the loudspeakers, and then he decreed: 'America must once again be a country where innovators are rewarded with a green light, not strangled with red tape, so they can't move, so they can't breathe.' The message was clear – the tech regulatory environment that was once the focus of federal lawmakers is no longer. 'I've been watching for many years,' Trump continued. 'I've watched regulation. I've been a victim of regulation.' As Trump spoke to the crowd, he addressed them as 'the group of smart ones … the brain power'. In front of him were tech leaders, venture capitalists and billionaires, including Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang and Palantir's chief technology officer Shyam Sankar. The Hill and Valley Forum, an influential tech industry interest group, co-hosted the confab, along with the Silicon Valley All-in Podcast, which is hosted by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks. Dubbed 'Winning the AI Race', the forum was an opportunity for the president to deliver what he called the 'AI action plan', which aims to loosen restrictions on the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. The cornerstone of that plan are three executive orders that Trump said will turn the US into an 'AI export powerhouse' and roll back some of the rules put in place by the Biden administration, which included guardrails around safe and secure AI development. 'Winning the AI race will demand a new spirit of patriotism and national loyalty in Silicon Valley – and long beyond Silicon Valley,' Trump said. One executive order targets what the White House calls 'woke' AI and requires any company receiving federal funding to maintain AI models free from 'ideological dogmas such as DEI'. But the other two focus on deregulation, a major demand of American tech leaders who have taken an increasingly bullish stand on government oversight. One of those promotes the export of 'American AI' to other countries and the other eases environmental rules and expedites federal permitting for power-hungry data centers. To get to this moment, tech companies have been forging a friendly relationship with Trump. The CEOs of Alphabet, Meta, Amazon and Apple donated to the president's inauguration fund and met with him at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, has become a close ally of Trump, and Nvidia's Huang has also cozied up with the president with promises of investing $500bn in AI infrastructure in the US over the next four years. 'The reality is that big tech companies are still spending tens of millions of dollars to curry favor with lawmakers and shape tech legislation,' said Alix Fraser, the vice-president of advocacy for the nonprofit Issue One. In a report released on Tuesday, Issue One looked at lobbying spending in 2025 and found that the tech industry has spent record-breaking sums. Eight of the largest tech companies spent a combined $36m – that's an average of about $320,000 per day when Congress is in session, according to Issue One. Meta spent the most, $13.8m, and has hired 86 lobbyists this year, according to the report. And Nvidia and OpenAI saw the biggest increases, with Nvidia spending 388% more than the same time last year, and OpenAI spending 44% more. In the lead-up to Trump's unveiling of his AI plan, more than 100 prominent labor, environmental, civil rights and academic groups countered the president and signed a 'People's AI action plan'. In a statement, the groups stressed the need for 'relief from the tech monopolies' that they say 'sacrifice the interests of everyday people for their own profits'. 'We can't let big tech and big oil lobbyists write the rules for AI and our economy at the expense of our freedom and equality, workers and families' wellbeing, even the air we breathe and the water we drink – all of which are affected by the unrestrained and unaccountable rollout of AI,' the groups wrote. Meanwhile, tech companies and industry groups celebrated the executive orders. Microsoft, IBM, Dell, Meta, Palantir, Nvidia, Anthropic, xAI and others praised the plan. James Czerniawski, the head of emerging technology policy at the Consumer Choice Center, a pro-business lobbying group, heralded Trump's AI plan as a 'bold vision'. 'This is a world of difference from the hostile regulatory approach of the Biden administration,' Czerniawski concluded.
